quote:Disney's Playdom social-gaming service has been ordered by the Federal Trade Commission to pay $3 million in fines for collecting and disclosing children's information without parental approval.
According to the FTC, many of Playdom's games, most notably the child-focused Pony Stars, attracted over 400,000 kids between 2006 and 2010. During that period, children under the age of 13 were able to register for the site, violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires Web site owners to notify parents and obtain their consent before they "collect, use, or disclose children's personal information."
According to the FTC, Playdom required children to share their ages and e-mail addresses during registration. The service then allowed those kids to "publicly post their full names, e-mail addresses, instant messenger IDs, and location, among other information, on personal profile pages and in online community forums."
